The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-03-19
A FEARFUL WRECK
A Train, Loaded Principally with
Working People,
Crashes Through Bridge Near Boston,
Killing Over Thirty Outright and
WOunding Twice as Many More
Heartrending Details.

disaster at the White River bridge on the
Central Vermont railway was paralleled
yesterday, and with the exception of the
fire feature, almost duplicated at Bussey
bridge, on the Dedham branch of the
Boston & Providence road. At White
River four cars were thrown from the
track upon bridge seventy feet above a
river and went down with the bridge on
TO the ice below. resulting in the death Of
thirty-two people, and the injury of nearly
forty more. At Bussey bridge six cars
were thrown from the track upon a dry
bridge forty feet above the highway and,
with the bridge, crashed down into the
street. resulting in the death Of, accord
ing to latest reports, thirty two people
and the wounding of from forty to sixty
more. At White River the engine and two
cars passed safely over the bridge and
their occupants escaped as by miracle.
At Bussey bridge the engine and three
cars passed safely over and their human
freight escaped with only jar.
The scene of yesterdays full calamity
is seven miles southwest from Beacon
Hill. Between the Forest Hill and Roslin-
dale stations, on the Dedham branch,
South street makes graceful curve, and
passes under the railroad, which also
curves at that point The bridge crosses
over the highway diagonally at a height
of forty feet, and was $50 feet long The
point is upon the border Of the old Bussey
farm, now the property of Harvard Col
lege, and the seat OF the Arnold
Arboretum.
At seven o'clock yesterday morning the
y1Vl Il fafrt,N nV,1r sgfi If
engine, eight passenger coaches and a
smoking-car, left Dedham for Boston.
Webster White was the engineer; Con-
ductor Webster N. Drake, of Dedham,
was in charge Of the train, and was as
sisted by conductors Myron W. Tildon, Of
Dedham, and MIR. Stubs.
Immediately behind the locomotive was
passenger car. Following next were
seven ordinary day cars, most of them of
the old fashioned type, at least with cast
iron stoves in the middle of the car, and
the rear was brought up by the smoking
car-nine cars in all Stops were made at
Spring street and West Roxbury, High
land, Central and Roslinda,e station, leav-
ing the last station with about three hun
dred people on board, mostly worllingmen
and women, shop and store girls, with
lunch baskets in hand, chatting and
laughing merrilv, and a few business
men. The three forward cars were more
densely crowded than any of the others.
At just fifteen minutes past seven the
train rounded the curve, and passed upon
the bridge. The engine had just crossed
the last abutment, when Engineer White
felt O jar as if the train had struck some
thing, hastily glancing backward out Of
his cab window, he saw and heard, as die
the engineer Of that fated Central Yer
mont train, the rear cars and the bridge
falling with crash into the abyss below
The three cars Immediately following the
engine had safely crossed the bridge, but
had been thrown from the track. En-.
gineer White at once uncoupled his
engine and, putting on all the steam pos
sible, ran down towards Forest Hill sta,
ton.
j. II. Lannon, fish dealer, was driving
up from Forest Hill toward the scene OF
the disaster, when the engine came down
the track whistling wildly. The locomo
tive slowed down at the Forest Hill cross
ing. and Lannon stopped his team, shout
ing to the engineer: whats the mat
tcr!n
"My train has gone through the bridge
telegraph to Boston, was the reply.
Lannon went 10 the station with tue mes.
sage, which was quickly flashed over the
wires Then he FASTENED back TO his
team and drove up TO the wreck, being
the first outsider 10 reach the spot.
Arriving at Forest Hill, the engineer at
once rang in a fire alarm, which summoned
| to the scene the fire department of Roslin-
| dale, with q steamer and Observation-Disclosures
truck from Jamalca Plain.
Having thoroughly aroused the sur
rounding communities, and tclegraphcd
the disaster TO tho officials, Engineer
White remounted his engine and ran her
back 20 the wreck, where crowds were
already gathering.
When j. II. Lannon, the fish dealer, who
was first on the ground, arrived, cries and
| groans were coming from all parts of the
awful heap Bruised and wounded people
were crawling out from all sides. He
found an ak and climbed upon the third
car that lay in the trench, two others be-
ing beneath il. The cries of the injured
came most from this car, he thought. He
crawled through a window and went to
work. A woman first demanded his at
tention She was pinned down by the
feet, and two seats and the body of man
Law on top Of her. The body and seats
were soon got out of the wav Working
on the wood and iron which held her down
caused her TO scream with fresh agony,
and it was some moments before she was
freed. Lannon dragged her to a window
and two men, James McLaren and James
Cronan, helped him lift her out.
Four men, three of them dead, were
taken from this car by these three men,
BY this time the firemen had arrived
and they, with the uuiniured from the
wreck were hard at work. first rescuinl
the imprisoned ones who were injured
and afterward in the more difficult task Of
digging out the dead from the shapeless
tangle of debris. In one of the forward
cars and among the Fl st passengers to b.
taken out was a young woman who's,
name has not been ascertained, anC
whose death-for she was killed outright
and terribly mutilated as well-wa,
the most shocking of any of TIT
passengers. When ingress was ob
tanned through the smashed car
and when the splintered timbers had beer
sufficiently removed to allow Of any worl
| ,,pop tha vvracly obo1t tho fret hOd,